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At least 21 businesses opened in Cheatham County in 2018, with others slated to open or expand in the county later this year.

That list includes restaurants, shops and more in the growing county between Nashville and Clarksville. Other notable businesses on track include two Hampton Inns — one in Pleasant View and another in Ashland City — and barge manufacturer Caymas Boats, and there’s more on the way.

Misty Keenan, executive director of the Cheatham County Chamber of Commerce, said the number of new businesses in 2018 is likely a year-over-year increase, and it's a good thing for the county.

Economic and Community Development Director Jerome Terrell said there’s “solid growth going on” in Cheatham.

Jerome Terrell(Photo: Submitted)

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Approximately 75 to 82 percent of Cheatham County’s workforce leaves the county for employment, including in Nashville and Clarksville, according to previous numbers from Economic and Community Development.

Terrell doesn’t expect that number to have changed much yet, but expects to see a difference by this time next year after larger employers like Caymas Boats and Arcosa Marine have hired hundreds of employees.

Every Tennessee county experienced a drop in its unemployment rate in November, some with a significant decrease, according to a Dec. 27 release from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Cheatham County ranked among the top 10 lowest unemployment rates, ranking No. 7 with a rate of 2.7 percent. Ninety-one counties’ rates were 5 percent or lower, the department’s data showed.

“It’s very encouraging to have so many counties with unemployment rates below 5 percent during November,” Commissioner Burns Phillips said in the release. “That means more Tennesseans were working and taking home a paycheck as we headed into the holiday season.”

Terrell also noted that construction of the upcoming facilities will increase the county’s daytime population, drawing workers to Cheatham’s restaurants and other businesses.

He cited the county’s location, natural resources, wildlife management and other characteristics for Cheatham’s “imminent” growth, later including the “really great people here… all this is positive for us.

Misty Keenan(Photo: Submitted photo)

“(It’s) important for us to have good employers and good jobs,” Terrell said.

Keenan noted new businesses generate additional taxes for the county. She also sees it as a good thing for incoming and potential business owners.

“It’s a good indicator for other people looking to open businesses…we’re seeing growth commercially and residentially,” Keenan said. “Cheatham County is (a) really good, business-friendly environment…(It’s the) perfect time to start” a business.